Improved telegraphic machine



L., BRADLEY.

Telegraph.

No. 25,718l l Patented Oct. H, 1859.

@gummi UNITED STATES PATENT Ormea.

1 L. BRADLEY, OF FOLSOM, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVED TELEGRAPHIC MACHINE.

Specilication forming part of Letters Patent No. 25,71 S, dated Octoberl1, 1859.

To all whom t't may concern:

Be it known that I, L. BRADLEY, of Folsom, in the county ot' Sacramentoand State ot' California, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Electro -Magnetic Ielegraphs; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in which- Figure l represents a front elevation of anelectro-m agnetic telegraph constructed according to my improvements.Fig. 2 isa side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan or top view ofthe same. Fig. 4 represen ts a full-size face view of one of thecomposing-sticks and types which I employ for closing and breaking' thecircuit. Fig. 4i is a transverse vertical section ot'kone of mycomposing-sticks together with the types. Fig. 5 is a face view of astrip of paper, exhibiting the marks made on the same by my instrument.(Shown full size.) Fig. 6 is a longitudinal central section ot" thearrangement made for connecting and disconnecting the recordingaud thetransmitting portion of the instrument.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondin g parts in theseveral tigures.

This invention consists in closing and breaking the circuit bymeans of acircuit-breaker of novel construction, which sweeps over the edge of thecomposing-sticks containing the several messages expressed by typeswhich represent the several letters of the alphabet, by a combination ofdots and longer and shorter strokes, and which are drawn along in frontof the circuit-breaker bymcans of an endless belt, and under a metallicspring which connects with one of the poles-say, the positive poleot' abattery, said circuit-breaker to be so arranged that the hook whichsweeps over the.

edge ofthe types and which connects with the negative pole ofthe batterycloses the circuit, first, by means of the types themselves and by thespring under which the said types are drawn along; and, secondly, bycoming in contact whenever it is pressed back bythe types with an armwhich is connected with the positive pole, and this circuit is soarranged that it passes through the helix of an electro-magnet, whichoperates the pen for recording the signs on a piece of paper placed on arevolving cylinder, which is provided at one end with a screw-thread,which gears into a correspond ing toot-hed rack, which is attached tothe platform on which the electro-magnet is arranged, so that thelatter, together with the pen, is moved along while the paper-cylinderrotates and that the pen makes its marks on the paper in a spiral line,and the two ends of the wire which constitutes the helix oftheelectro-magnet extend through the platform into grooves, which arefilled with mercury, and one ot' which is connected with the positiveand the other one with the negative pole, so that the circuit is notinterrupted by the motion of the platform; and the driving-axle of theinstrument is so arranged that the recording part and the transmittingpart of the instrument can be con neet-ed and disconnected at pleasure.

To enable others skilled in the art to fully understand, construct, anduse my telegraphinstrument, I will proceed to describe its constructionand operation.

A is a platform, on which a frame, B, is erected, which forms thebearings for the axles a c of two rollers O O', which serve to givemotion to an endless belt, D, and attached to one'of the axles a is acrank, E, which serves to operate the instrument. The width ot' the beltD corresponds to the width of the composing-sticks F, (see Fig. 4,) andit (the band) is provided with slats b, placed crosswise on the same,and at such distances that the composing-sticks, which are all made ofuniform length, t nicely between two of the same.

-The composing-sticks are constructed of sheet zinc bent over so as toform a recess, rit, for the types F, and the lower end of the types ismade thinner, so that the surface of that part of the types which isabove the recess r is flush with the upper surface of thecomposingsticks. rIhe types lie at on the lower part of thecornposing-sticks, and they project sufficiently beyond the same, andtheir upper edge is composed of a series of dots and longer and shorterstrokes, so that they serve to close the circuit, as will be hereinafterdescribed.

Att-ached to the upper edge of the frame B are the guides G, which serveto keep the composing-sticks in proper line, and one of these guides,G', is bent over so as to extend across the whole width of the band D,leaving only just room enough for the sticks to pass under it, so thatthe same (the sticks) cannot fail to pass under a spring, c, which isattached to a cross-bar, d, and which slides over the surface of thesticks F. These latter, as well as the spring c, are constructed of agood conductor, as the spring c, together with the composingsticks F,form one way of closing the circuit, as will be hereinafter more fullyexplained. The end B of the frame B forms an inclined plane, on whichthe several composing-sticks are deposited after they have passed overthe band D, as represented in Figs. l and 3 in red outline, thelower endof the said inclined plane being considerably lower than the top of theband. The sticks are deposited on the inclined plane B', one above theother, in precisely the same order as that in which they were placed onthe belt, for theadvahcin g ends of the sticks, as they leave the belt,strike the inclined plane or the stick upon it and slide up it tilltheir other ends pass completely over the roller C and drop down out ofthe way of the succeeding sticks, which are'depositcd each directly uponits predecessor. By thus collecting the sticks in the saine order asthatin which they have been set up in the dispatch they may be put awayin the same order and so preserved till thedispatch is all set up, orfor as long a time as may be desirable to enable any necessarycorrection to be made in the dispatch, or for any other purpose.

H represents the circuit-breaker, the several parts of which arearranged on aplat'e, e, which is attached to. the frarneBby means of apivot, e', and the upper surface of the plate E is Y flush with theupper edge of theframe B, with the exception ofthe projection cit, whichrises above the other part of the plate e, and which is rounded off atboth corners, so that the composing-sticks in passing by do not catch,and which is kept a little in advance of the front edge of the guides Gby means of a spring,f, which presses on its back.

The plate c forms the bearings for two pivots, g and i', and the pivot gserves to retain in its place the hook g, which extends through anopening in the projection cit of the ivory plate e, and which issubjected to the action of a weak spring, gt, and the distance to whichthe hook g projects beyond the front edge of the projection frt isregulated by means of a hook, h, which catches over the arm of the hookg, and the screwed end of which4 passes through an ear, h', so thatitcau be lengthened or shortened by means of two jam-nuts, h"t and h'ct,which are on opposite sides of the ear h.

Attached to the second pivot t, which is fastened in the ivory plate e,is an arm, z', which is subjected to the action of a very weak spring,ti, and which is adjusted by a hook, R, which catches over it, and whichis shortened or lengthened by means of two jam-nuts, R* and Rt, similarin every respect tothe hook h, which serves to adjust the hook g. Smallpieces of platina wire l l' are inserted, one in the back of the hook gand the other in the front side of the arm t, and just opposite to eachother, so that by pressing back the hook g the two platina points Z andlf come in contact with each other, whereby the circuit is closed, aswill be presently explained.

A key, I, is provided, similar in every respect to the key with whichthe telegraph-instrument known as Morses telegraph is operated,so thatthe circuit can be closed or broken by means of this key as well as bymeans of the spring` c and the composing-sticks, or by the compoundcircuit-breaker H.

The axle a, which bears the crank E, extends through theframeB and toastandard, J, which serves for its bearing, and attached to a tube, at,in which the axle a slides is a bevelwheel, K, which gears into asimilar bevelwheel, K', which is attached to the arbor of thepaper-cylinder L. This arbor has its bearings on two pivots, l Z3, whichare adjustable in standards l* lit, so that the paper-cylinder can bemade to turn quite easily. The axle a has a longitudinal slidingniotionon the tubes or sleeves a* and ait, and the ends of these sleeves areslotted, so that keys and jit, which are rmly inserted in the axle a,cause both the sleeves (or only one of them) to rotate together with theaxle, according to the position ofthe keys. This position is determinedby a collar, j, which is rigidly attached to the axle a, and 'which isprovided with three grooves, It R Rf, corresponding to the positions otthe instrument, and afall, Ritz, which fits in either one of thegrooves, retains the axle a in the required position. In the positionrepresented in Fig. 3 the fall is placed in the middle groove, R, andthe keys j* and jt both t into one of the grooves in the ends of thesleeves c* and al. By placing the fall in the groove R'" vthe key ji'*is brought out of the groove in the end of the sleeve aft, and thesleeve at, only together with the bevelwheels K K and their appendages,are rotated by turning the crank E, and the endless band remainsstationar 75 but if the fall be brought into the groove R the endlessband only is set in motion, while' all that part of the instrument themotion of which depends upon the bevel-wheel K remains stationary.

rllhe paper-cylinder L is provided with iingers itz Zi, which serve toretain on the cylinder the sheets of paper on which the messages are tobe recorded, and these lingers are attached to an arbor, Zit, whichextends in a longitudinal direction through the cylinder, and whichl arepressed down on the surface of the cylinder by means of a spring, m, andwhich are retained in a position so as to clear the cylinder and torelease the sheets of paper by means of a spring-catch, m.

One side of the cylinder is provided with a projecting rim, mt, whichforms a screw-thread, which serves to give motion to a sliding platform,M, by means of a toothed rack, N, which is pivoted to one end of thesaine in such a manner that its toothed edge can be brought to gear into the screw-thread min which case the platform is moved in alongitudinal direction over the distance of one tooth of the rack foreach revolution of the papercylinder. The

- their bearings in ears o', which are attached to a table, O, and it(the platform) forms the support for the electro-magnetl? and for aselfsupplying inkstand, Q.

The electro-magnet is of the usual construetion, with the exception thatthe two ends of its helix, instead of being connected directly to thetwo poles of the battery, extend down through the platform M intogrooves r r', which are made into a block, R, which is rigidly attachedto the table 0.

P is the armature, which is attached to an arm, p, which turns quiteeasily between points p p', and which is supported by a spiral spring,pti-the power of which can easily be overcome by theattract-ion of theelectro-magnet, and the strain of which can be regulated, to a cert-ainextent, by means of a screw, pft, and a plate, p, which slides np anddown in a framing, pw, which forms the bearing forthe screw pit,thespring pt being attached with one end to the plate p and with the otherto the arm p. rlhis arm extends to a point right over the center of thecylinder L, where itforms a socket, p3, in which a pen, q, can besecured by means of a 'set-screw, g', and right under the pen is aslotted spring-plate, q, wh'ich retains the paper smoothly on thecylinder while it passes under tlie pen. This penis simply a hollow tubemade of iine wire, having its end split open, so as to facilitate theiiow ofthe ink,and it is bent in the form of a Siphon, with one of itsends extending down into the inkstand Q. This tube is so ne that the inkdoes not ilow from the same until its point comes in contact with thepaper, and this point is so adjusted that it just touches the paperwhenever the armature is attracted by the electro-magnet; and in orderto adjust the pen in such relation to the paper-cylinder L that itspoint is kept at an equal distance from the paper as it is moved alongwith the platform M, the table O is so arranged that it can be broughtin proper relation with the paper-cylinder by means of screws s s, whichscrew into the table O, and which rest on points which tit into socketsmade in the upper surface of the platform A, and by means of arms s ss', which are attached to the under side of the table, and which unitein a boss, 8*, in front of the instrument, which can be raised orlowered by means of a thumb-screw, s.

A thumb screw, s3, which passes freely through the table O, and whichscrews int-o the platform A, serves to secure the table in the requiredposition.

The connection of the several parts of ther instrument with the batteryand its operation is as follows: An insulated wire, 8, extends from thegroove .r to the positive pole of the battery, and a second wire, 9,extends from the groove r to a clamp, t, from which it branches off,onel branch, 9', leading to the cross-bar d, and the other branch, 9, toa mercurycup, t', into which the pivot t" extends, to which the arm flis attached. Another wire, 11, extends from the negative pole ofthebattery to the base ot' the key I, from whence it extends up to amercury-cup in the inside of the frame B, into which the pivot g"extends, 011 which the hookg is arranged. lt will be seen that the onlyinterruption of the current is between the two platina points Z l', orbetween the hook g and the spring c. As soon, therefore,as one ofthecomposing-sticks passes under the spring c, and when thc point of thehook g comes in contact with one of the projections on the edge of thetypes, the current from the positive pole passes through the wire 8 tothe mercury in the groove 1", and through the helix of' thcelectro-magnet to the groove r, from which it is conducted through thewires 9 and 9 to the spring c, and through the composing-sticks Fthemselves to the hook g, from which it returns through the wire ll tothe negative pole; and as soon as the hook g is raised so as to bringthe point L in contact with the point l the connection is also iliadethrough the wires 9 and 9 and through the arm 'i to the hook g, and yback to the battery. A double connection is thus formed between the twopoles of the battery, so that should one fail, by impurities accumulatedon the surface of the composing-sticks or by some mechanicalimperfection, the other` connection still keeps the circuit closedwhenever one of the projections which constitute the types comes incontact with the hook g so as to bring the platina points l and l totouch each other, and so that the circuit is closed through the spring cand through the composing-sticks F and hook g, or through the arm t, thepins Z and Z, and the hook g; and whenever the circuit is closed thearmature is attracted by the electro-magnet, and the arm p, with the penq, is depressed on the paper which revolves with the cylinder L, so thata dot or a longer or shorter stroke is made on the same, according tothe time during which the circuitis kept in a closed condition. rI lhedots and strokes made by the pen on the paper will, therefore,correspond to the shape of the projections which constitute the types,and if the hook g passes over a sharp point only the'pen will be merelydepressed for a short moment, and a dot will be the result; but shouldthe hook g pass over a longer projection on the edge of the types alonger stroke of the pen will appear on the paper, and, in fact, amessage placed in one of the composing-sticks F and passing through myinstrument will be recorded on the paper which is rotated with thecylinder L in exactly the same'signs in which it is composed. If,therefore, a number of such signs and composing-sticks ot' the propersize be placed in 'the hands of the public and the public be madeacquainted with the proper signs, anybody will be able to compose hisown message, and if sent to the telegraph ofce all that remains for theoperator to do is to pass this message through the instrument, and itwill be recorded at the other end ot' the circuit.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Arranging the type and mechanism for closing the circuitsubstantially as described, or in an equivalent manner, so that a doubleclosing of the circuit is eit'ected as each tooth of the type cornes incontact with the closing mechanism.

2. The combination of thc type and composing-sticks with a yieldinginsulating-plate carrying the mechanism for breaking and closin g thecircuit, whereby the contact of the clogsing mechanism with the face ofthe tube is insured.

3. The vibrating hook g and bar t' or their equivalents, in combinationwith ayielding insulatingplate and type and sticks,t'orthe purpose ot'closing the circuit.

4. The combination of the composing-stick and type with the spring c orits equivalent, arranged substantially as described, so that the typesare made to form a portion of the circnit, for the purpose set forth.

5. Thecombination of thecarrying-band and mechanism for closing thecircuit with the composing-sticks and type arranged on the band inrelation to each other, substantially as described, "so thatthe sticksare successively carried forward in the order in which they arearranged, brought into the circuit, and the message transmitted withoutinterruption.

6. The combination ofthe movable platform carrying the recordingmechanism with the rotating cylinder carrying the record-paper, arrangedsubstantially as described, so that the message as transmitted isrecorded in parallel lines on the paper.

7. Constructing the composing-sticks and types substantially asdescribed, so that the sticks when filled present an even and datsurface on either side.

8. The application of a siphon-pen, constructed and arrangedsubstantially as described, for the purpose ot' recording the messages.

9. The inclined plane B, arranged substantially as described, incombination with the band D, whereby the composing-sticks are receivedfrom the band in such manner as Ilot vto interfere with each othersdelivery, and in the saine order in which they were placed on `the band.

L. BRApLEY. Witnesses WM. TUscH, GHS. LEDIE.

